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MORE "DOUBLE DIP" RESIGNATIONS ON GUAM

Submitted by admin on Wed, 04/30/2003 - 00:00

HAGATNA, Guam (Pacific Daily News, April 30) - Former
legislative Speaker Tony Unpingco no longer works for the governor's office.

Unpingco, a government of Guam retiree who also worked as one of
the governor's advisers, decided to resign yesterday in response to the
governor's ultimatum against double dipping, said governor's spokesman John Dela
Rosa.

Soledad Chargualaf and Lydia Cooper also opted to resign from
the governor's office yesterday, Dela Rosa said, leaving the fate of several
other double dippers in the hands of Gov. Felix Camacho.

A double dipper is someone who has retired from the government
of Guam but is rehired as an unclassified employee, receiving a retirement check
as well as a paycheck.

The governor's office incorrectly identified Alvin Lorenzo, who
worked for former Gov. Carl Gutierrez, as a double dipper. That leaves six
employees of the governor's office who missed Friday's deadline to choose which
pay to retain.

Dela Rosa said Camacho would take action yesterday afternoon on
the remaining employees, and if they have not suspended their retirement checks,
then Camacho will assume they have resigned.

Marylou Taijeron, deputy director at the Department of Public
Health and Social Services, will be asked to decide when she returns to Guam.

Pacific Islands Report is a nonprofit news publication of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Offered as a free service to readers, PIR provides an edited digest of news, commentary and analysis from across the Pacific Islands region, Monday - Friday.